Manny Pacquiao – Photo Credit: Flickr

Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines is planning to run for president in the 2022 Philippine elections. The 42 year-old said that he was retiring from boxing to focus on his political career.

Pacquiao is a Philippine senator who has been dividing his time spent between politics and boxing. He made the announcement in a 14-minute video posted on his Facebook page. 

“I just heard the final bell. Boxing is over,” said the former professional boxer who was the only man to hold world titles in eight different divisions. “I never thought this day would come as I hung up my boxing gloves.”

Known for his fast footwork and blistering speed of punches, Pacquiao was widely acknowledged as one of the top offensive fighters in boxing’s history. 

In 2010, a veteran promoter Bob Arum said that Pacquiao was unmatched, and rated him better than Muhammad Ali. “His left and right hand hit with equal power and that is what destroys his opponents.” 

Pacquiao’s family was dirt-poor and he grew up in the south of the Philippines. He had to do odd jobs in order to survive. When he was a teenager, he stowed away on a boat to Manila and that’s where he started competitive boxing.

He started his political career with a failed congressional run in 2007 and won a seat at the lower house of congress in 2010, representing the southern Sarangani province. Pacquiao was elected for a six-year term in the upper chamber in 2016.